


So It Goes...

by robinrunsfiction



Category: Impractical Jokers
Genre: F/M, Sex, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 16:17:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 22,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15975938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinrunsfiction/pseuds/robinrunsfiction
Summary: Robin moved to New York for a fresh start, a place to focus on her goals and living her best life. Then she met Brian.





	1. Met You In A Bar

**Author's Note:**

> This story is an act of self indulgence. I'd like to believe that in an alternate universe this version of myself is out there, doing the things in this story. One can dream, right?

She found the place that her friend had told her she would meet her when she was done at the party, and ducked in from the cold. She smiled at the sight of the dive bar, her favorite type of watering hole. It was pretty busy since it was a Friday night, but there was an open stool at the bar and she dove for it.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" She asked the man sitting on the next stool over. She figured he was the only patron that would be holding it since the people on the other side were deep in conversation over their drinks.

"Only if you take it" he said with a smile. She sat down, shaking off her wool winter coat and ordered a Blue Moon when the bartender came over.

"Nothing like a woman who knows which beer she wants," the man commented, watching her taking her first swig. "I'm Brian, by the way."

"Robin" she replied, extending her hand for a handshake. "I like Blue Moon, but there are a few local brews from back home I wish I could get out here."

"Where are you from?" He asked looking her up and down. She had dark brown hair, a fit body, and radiant pale skin that was in stark contrast of the dark green lace of her dress.

"Wisconsin, the land of cheese, beer and my beloved, albeit shitty this season, Green Bay Packers."

"Well, welcome to New York. What brought you out here?"

"Well, short story long, I spent most of my twenties with a guy who up and left me for his childhood best friend after she sucked his dick when they reunited when he was on a work trip and he ran away to be with her. I started focusing on myself and got my masters in health and wellness management and then moved out here for work after only being here once for the interview." He looked at her, stunned at the blunt honesty.

"Sorry, I ramble when I’ve been drinking, I was at my work Christmas party before this. I shouldn’t have dumped all that on you.” She looked genuinely embarrassed at her lack of filter as she took another drink.

“That’s ok” he said with a laugh. “I was gonna ask why you’re so dressed up.”

“Oh you know, I like to fancy up a place with my presence” she laughed, feeling like she had hopefully recovered well enough in front of the first cute guy she’s gotten the nerve to talk to in a while. He had short hair, styled back, a bit of a 5 o’clock shadow, and big brown eyes. “My friend was supposed to meet me here, but I guess she bailed on me!”

“Her loss I’d say” he said with a wink, and she blushed.

“So what do you do?”

"Oh, a few different things" he looked like he was trying to figure out how to phrase what he was going to say next. "I work in television and I have a couple podcasts that I work on" She squinted ever so slightly, trying to make his face fit in a puzzle of people she had seen somewhere before.

"What show do you work on? I feel like I've seen you before but I can't place it."

"Impractical Jokers, we just performed at Madison Square Garden, might have seen the billboards up."

"Ahhh yea, ok, I think I remember seeing those. That's very cool! Do you do a lot of live shows?"

"Yea, we travel some, and we travel to shoot specials, it's a good way to see the world and get paid for it. We have shows out of town the next few weekends, but then we get time off for the holidays."

"Nice," she said taking a sip of her beer. "I never really used to travel, but when I moved here I drove the whole way by myself and that was an experience I'd never trade for anything. Saw a lot, got to do some real thinking, planning on how I want to live my life on my terms.”

“What are your big plans?” He asked taking a swig of his drink.

“I want to really want to advance my career, and I want to get faster as a runner, improve my marathon time, get stronger overall. I love working out, and I don’t care how boring that sounds” she said taking a big swig of her beer.

“You got guns, huh?” he asked.

“Check this out” she said flexing her arm and he gave it a squeeze.

“Damn!”

"I know!” she said as they both laughed.

“So you ran a marathon?”

“Yea, I’m not an Olympian or anything, but I'm working on getting faster. I’m hoping to get a BQ soon.”

He looked at her puzzled and a little amused. "BQ?"

"Yea, a Boston Marathon qualifying time, you have to be really fast."

"Ah damn, I thought you meant you wanted to go out with me some time" he seemed genuinely disappointed.

"I mean, sure, but…” she was confused at the turn in the conversation.

"My last name is Quinn"

"Ohhh, so your initials are BQ"

"Exactly. I might not be the first BQ you wanted, but if you want, we could maybe go out some time?"

"Yea, sure” she said with a smile, again thankful for the dim lighting to hide her blushed cheeks. “Do you want my number?" He grinned and pulled out his phone. She entered her information and handed it back. They talked for quite a while longer, before she realized how late it was getting.

"Shit it’s almost closing time! I haven’t been out this late in a really long time. I should probably be going, but it was really great to meet you" she said placing a hand on his arm as she got up from where she had been seated for what did not feel like hours.

"Yea, I'll call you, we can go out while I'm still in town next week" he said as he held the door open for her and they ventured into the night. Flurries had just started to fall through the crisp early winter air. He hailed a cab for her and opened the door. As she moved past him, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"See you next week."


	2. You Make Everyone Disappear

Robin walked into work on Monday and settled in with her phone on the desk. She and Brian had been texting since Friday night when they met.

"Hey girl, sorry about Friday!" said her friend and coworker Serena from the doorway to her office.

"You know what? I'm not even mad, don't worry about it," she replied with a smug smile.

Serena paused and looked at Robin like she knew she was keeping something from her. "So you had a good time without me?"

"Well I was a little disappointed that you weren't behind me when I left the party like I thought, but I ended up meeting a guy at the bar where we were supposed to meet."

"Reeeealllllllly?! It's about time girl! You've been out here for almost half a year, there's literally millions of guys and you finally go out and get one, good for you! Tell me about him!"

"Not yet."

"What? Why not?”

"I'll tell you more when it either becomes something, or when it falls apart. Until then, you'll just have to wait," she said with a sly smile.

"You are the worst! I gotta go, I have a meeting, but I'll be back for more deets later."

Robin just laughed to herself as her friend breezed out of her office.

~

Thursday evening took forever to arrive, but when it did, Robin couldn't have been happier. They had made plans after she got off work to meet at a brew pub that he promised her "wasn't too hipster".

He stood up with a big smile as she walked in. "Hey, good to see you! I was starting to think you weren't gonna show!"

"Shit, sorry, am I that late? I typically only drive from work to the gym, or directly home, so I was kinda oblivious to how long it would really take."

"Eh, no worries, want to order a flight?"

"Yea, let's try what all they have to offer!"

They each ordered a flight of beers and chatted about how their day had been.

"This place is really cool, and not a total hipster shit show, I like it!"

"I'm glad you like it-"

"But it's not New Glarus,” she interjected. “Or Minhas, or the Leinie Lodge. God I love that place."

"Leinie Lodge? What are you talking about?"

"Leinenkugel’s, it’s the best brewery in Wisconsin, in my opinion. If you're ever passing through the northern part of Wisconsin, stop in Chippewa Falls, it's awesome."

"I'll remember that. What else is there to do there?"

They discussed her home state, the city she grew up in, and how it compared to him growing up in such a big city. They realized that even though they grew up about 1000 miles and 11 years apart, they shared a lot of experiences.

"My friends and I were the nerdy kids, constantly talking about Star Wars, taking AP courses, and playing in the orchestra,” she explained. “I was also a cheerleader because “Bring It On” spoke to me on an emotional level, but I would go hang out while my friends were in math competitions and do math cheers for them."

He almost snorted out the beer he was drinking. "Oh my god, that's awesome. But seriously, do you still have that cheerleading uniform?" Robin winked as she took a drink and Brian grinned.

They ordered some food, as it had started to snow outside and neither of them were ready to leave the warmth of the brewery. The room was crowded and buzzing with people, but as far as they were concerned, they could have been the only people in a 10 block radius.

She checked her phone and saw it was starting to get late and she had to work the next day.

"I hate to say it, but I should probably be getting going" she said while putting on an exaggerated pout. Brian reached out and took her hand.

"Can we do this again?"

"Yes please" she replied, smiling.

He paid their bill and they walked outside. The bar had a patio for warmer weather that was covered in strands of white twinkle lights. She looked up at the snow coming down and marveled at the beautiful scene. "I love winter. I love snow, and the cold and all of this" she said gesturing around.

"Yea, it isn't half bad" Brian replied as she playfully hit him in the arm for his lack of enthusiasm.

“Oh come on, look at it!”

"It's gonna sound cheesy, but I think you're more beautiful than all this" he said as she felt his hand on her waist pulling her in closer, leaning in to kiss her. The sounds of the city faded away to nothing as her arms draped across his shoulders. When they pulled apart her heart was racing like she had just run a race.

"Wow" she said and he chuckled.

"Yeah” he was grinning.

"So next week, my treat?" She asked as they made their way toward the parking lot.

"Looking forward to it already."

"Great! Have a good time on your trip!" He smiled and waved as she got in her car and drove off. He got in his jeep and rested his head against the steering wheel and sighed. It had been a very long time, but he knew he was in deep already.


	3. Caught Up In The Moments

"Hey man, we going out after the show tonight? I could use a wingman" Sal asked coming into the green room where his friend was smiling, distracted by whatever was on his phone screen. "Q... You in there? Oh my god."

"Yes yes, what?" Q grumbled as he was snapped out of his phone.

"Are we going out?"

"No, we aren't."

"Why not?"

"Because I... don't want to get into it right now."

Sal looked his friend over and it clicked. "You met someone! I want details man!"

Q sighed "Yea, I did. And I really don't want to fuck this up. She so down to earth, and smart, and has a great job, and she runs, an-"

"She runs? What do mean, like she's a health nut?"

"Yea kinda, it's part of her job."

"And she's met you in person?”

"Hilarious."

"No this is good man, this is good for you. Where'd you meet?"

"Last Friday at a bar. We went out last night and got plans to go out next week too."

"Damn, you gonna bring her to my New Year’s party or are you gonna bail on me?"

"No I'll be there, I'll ask her too, as long as things keep going good."

"Good, I want to see who this chick think she is."

It was then Joe and Murr popped their heads in to let them know that they were due on stage.

“What are you guys talking about in here?” Murr asked.

“Nothin, let’s get goin” Q said deflecting the attention off himself and focusing back on work.

 ~

The following week Robin and Brian met up for dinner and drinks again, but this time she was waiting at the bar when he arrived.

"Hey, you beat me here this time"

"Yea, I didn't drive this time, I have to get my breaks changed tomorrow and I dropped my car off after work and took a cab here."

"I can give you a ride home tonight if you want? I just got a new jeep, it's pretty sweet. Just gotta keep my friends from blowing this one up."

 "Wait, what?!" She asked, her jaw dropped. He explained the last season finale of their show. They discussed the show some more, and the ridiculous challenges and punishments he's endured over the years. They talked about friendships and got to talking about their families.

"So you aren't going home for Christmas?" He asked.

"No, I went back to Wisconsin at Thanksgiving and I just don't have the time off from work. The New Year is kind of my busy time. Resolutions, and insurance premiums go up, and all that kind of thing. I'll probably Skype with my parents and go for a run if it's ok outside. But you know, I'm the type of person who really likes their time alone, so I'm not too concerned. What are you going to do?"

"Family gets together on Christmas Eve, then I just do my own thing on Christmas day." An awkward silence hung between them, as he was unsure if he should ask her if she wanted to spend time together on Christmas since she just said she wanted to be alone. "Got any plans for New Year’s Eve?"

"No, I don't think so, do you?"

"Yea, my buddy Sal is having a party at his place. You want to come along?"

"Sure, that sounds great, especially after some of those stories!" She replied with a laugh.

The waiter dropped off the check and she grabbed it before he could. "I said my treat."

"Ok, I'm not going to argue with you." He said with a laugh. After settling up, they walked out to his jeep and headed back to her apartment.

She wasn't sure if she should invite him up since it had been a while since she had been on a date, let alone a second date. She turned and looked at him at the same moment he turned and looked at her and she reached over, hand on his cheek, pulling him toward her.

 _A make out session in front of my house? What was this prom night?_ she thought to herself as she smiled into the kiss and ran her hands through his hair. He was running his hands up and down her back, best he could as he hadn't had a chance to unbuckle his seat belt.

It had been a few minutes before there was a rap on the window. They both jumped, snapped back to reality. She rolled down her window for the police officer who had been patrolling the street. He seemed surprised to find two adults, rather than a couple of teenagers steaming up the windows of the jeep.

“Everything ok in here?” The officer asked shining his flashlight in their eyes.

“Yep, no problem," Brian replied, feeling annoyed and slightly embarrassed by how their evening was suddenly concluding.

"Alright, move it along" the officer replied as he walked off.

"God" she sighed as her head hit the back of her seat.

"Yeah..."

"I had a nice time, despite... that" she said with a wave of her hand.

"Yea me too" he leaned in and they kissed again.

"I'll talk to you soon" she said getting out of the car. He waved and watched as she walked into her building. After a minute a light came on in a second floor window, and then her figure appeared in the window. She waved and drew the blinds.


	4. So It Goes...

"Serena, you busy?" She asked from the doorway of her friend’s office.

"No, what's up?"

"I think I'm ready to share some more details, about… him."

"OOOOH!" Her friend squealed. "Tell me, tell me!"

"Well we text a lot, and went out again this weekend, so we've had two official dates-"

"Have you hooked up yet?"

"What? No! I mean we made out until a cop interrupted us, but that's as far as things have gone. I'm just wondering what the rules are these days. If it gives you any context, he's a little bit older than me."

"Reeeealllllllly?! Now this is interesting! How much older?" Robin felt her cheeks blush deep red. She wasn't easily embarrassed, but she wasn't used to these types of discussions with friends either.

"Like 11 years" she mumbled.

"Oh girl, ok! Its 2017, if you want to hook up with him, do it! You are a catch, and if he's interested, do your thing girl!"

Robin nodded decidedly. "Yea, I want to have fun, I'm sure he does too. He invited me to a New Year's party at his friend's place."

Serena sat back in her chair. "Oh yea, sounds like you got him wrapped up." Robin felt a sense of pride and confidence wash over her. 

"You think? I mean he's really cool and knows a ton of probably more interesting people."

"Hold on, you never told me what he does, or even who he is."

"I can't say. He's a... secret agent."

"Uh huh"

"And if I'd tell you I'd have to kill you. And the Russia investigation, and the Steel dossier, Robert Mueller, and yea I should just go now." Robin jumped up as Serena laughed at the ridiculous lie.

"Ok go call your secret agent, like an adult!" Robin heard her friend shout from behind her office door as she shut it behind her.

~

It was about 4 pm on Christmas day when his phone started buzzing on the coffee table. He had been mindlessly re-watching the new season of Stranger Things while his cats played on the floor by his feet. Most people had already sent their Merry Christmas messages so he was startled when the buzzing snapped him back to reality.

"Remember last week when I said I really like alone time, and that I was sure I'd be fine alone on Christmas?" Her text message read.

“Yea" he replied.

"Turns out that’s only half true."

"I'll be there in a few minutes" he replied before shutting off the TV and tracking down his boots.

She was so relieved that he was coming over. As she had planned, she Skyped with her whole family, who seemed thoroughly unimpressed by her life on the east coast. It seemed they were set out to make her feel guilty for not being there, as well as disappointed that she was missing a good time with everyone. She also had intentions of getting a workout done, but her gym was closed when she got there, apparently whoever was supposed to be working never showed up.

Completely disappointed by the day, she trudged home and took a shower. She spent the next couple hours shuffling around her apartment. She scrolled through social media posts of happy families, couples, and friends and was suddenly overwhelmed by the loneliness and sadness of her day. That's when she sucked up her pride and texted Brian.

Knowing he was on the way over, she ran over to her bedroom and pulled out something she had hidden away in the back of her drawer. She slipped into the red panties with the satin bow on the back and matching lacy red bra. She jumped back into her yoga pants and pulled out a longer shirt to cover up the conspicuous lumps the bow left at top of her butt. She wanted to be ready if something were going to happen, but if nothing happened, she didn't want him to know what she was hiding under her comfy, casual outfit.

It wasn't too much longer before the doorbell rang. She jumped up from the couch, but didn't want to seem too eager so she put on the brakes as she approached the door. "Hey, thanks for coming over" she said as he came in, shaking off the cold.

"Hey, no problem. No one should have to be alone on Christmas." He looked around the living room of her small apartment. A tiny Christmas tree sat in the corner, next to a large book shelf filled with cds and vinyl albums, as well as the equipment to play them on. The next book shelf was full of movies and seasons of TV shows. In between was a rack holding all the race metals she had earned.

"Nice little place you have here" he said approaching the shelves to look at her collections.

"Thanks. I clearly brought only the necessities with me when I moved out here” she replied as she came over to where he was standing.

"Nothing wrong with that" he replied

“I’m really into classic rock” she said motioning to her vinyl collection, “but lately I’ve been listening to a lot of the band’s I got into about 10 years ago too, the emo scene stuff. Also, I’m going to be really honest, this new Taylor Swift album speaks to me, like you wouldn’t even know. I’ll borrow you the CD sometime if you want.”

“You’re speaking Wisconsin again.”

“Oh shut up, I’m adorable” she grinned and made her way to the kitchen. "Can I get you a drink? Oh, check this out!" He followed and couldn't deny checking out her ass as she bent over to look into the cabinet. She emerged holding a bottle of Jameson, a smirk spreading across her face as she realized that he was checking her out.

 "Oh sweet!" He said when he saw what she was holding up.

"Yea, I noticed you had ordered it when we were at dinner, and I thought..." she shrugged.

"That's awesome" impressed by her thoughtful gesture. He opened the bottle as she got down a glass from the cabinet for him. She got herself a beer out of the fridge before they went out to the couch. He told her about his Christmas celebration with his family, until he noticed she was starting to look sad. He quickly changed the topic and they continued chatting for hours.

As they talked, they relaxed and before they knew it, she was leaning her back against his chest, legs stretched long across the couch in front of her, and his arm wrapped around her shoulder. After a lull in the conversation she looked back up at him. As she smiled, he leaned down to kiss her. She rolled over so she was laying on him and deepened the kiss. They continued this way until she pulled herself up and straddle his legs. His hands ran through her hair, and up and down her back, eventually slipping under her shirt. The warmth of his hands on her bare skin made her felt protected and calm. She started kissing on his neck and ground her hips into his.

"Bedroom?" She asked as he moved his lips to her neck. Without a word he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to her room. He set her down on the bed and he pulled off his red flannel shirt and the black tee shirt underneath. She pulled off her top and she heard him say wow under his breath, she knew she made the right choice when getting ready. She laid back and he pulled down her yoga pants.

"God damn, you're killin me girl"

"Good" she replied with a devilish grin. "Oh wait," she said rolling over and shaking the red bow on her ass for him.

"Is this my present?" He asked, hands back on her hips as he pulled her back toward him and started kissing her again. She laid back down and he began kissing down her body, pulling off her panties. He knelt down before her at the edge of her bed.

"May I?" He asked from between her knees.

"Go ahead!"

He started kissing up the insides of her thighs and she stifled a giggle because his stubble tickled her skin lightly. As he reached the middle he started kissing gently at first, then his tongue set to work on her clit. She moaned quietly and bit her lip, eyes falling closed. He continued like this before slipping a finger inside, and then another. This combination was almost too much and she found herself gripping his hair with one hand and the bedsheets with another. After what felt like only seconds to her she was writhing and feeling like she was going to come apart.

"Oh my god" she moaned. "I'm... gonna..."

He pressed his tongue against her harder, and increased the pace of his fingers, and she felt like she was falling to pieces.

"Oh my god" she said sitting up, trying to catch her breath.

After a moment she scooted back up the length of the bed. He shed his jeans and kissed his way back up her body, she grabbed her phone off the bedside table and turned on a song that matched the mood.

 _'See you in the dark, all eyes on you my magician'_ the first lines of "...So It Goes" by Taylor Swift filled the room.

He smirked slightly at the song choice, but she grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him down into a kiss. Her hands were back in his hair, and his hands were running over her chest. She pulled back when he lifted her hips. He raised his eyebrows, questioning his next move. She nodded and he pressed into her.

She moaned lightly and they began to move in rhythm. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him back down to kiss on his neck while her nails ran up and down his back. The friction built between them and as she came she moaned his name in pleasure causing him followed suit.

She curled against him, her head on his shoulder. He looked over and kissed her forehead.

"That was..."

"Yeah" He replied, almost breathless.

She sat up and glanced at the clock on her bedside table, it read 11:43 PM.

"Ugh shit" she groaned, flopping back against her pillow.

"What's wrong?" A look of concern washing over his face as he leaned up on his elbow.

"I'm usually asleep so much earlier than this on a work night," she paused. "But you know what, it's not like I was going to get anything done tomorrow anyway."

"I'm sorry, I'll get out of here so you can get to sleep." He said getting up and gathering his clothes and getting dressed.

"Aww" she pouted. He leaned back over her bed and kissed her.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow" he promised as she walked him back to the door. He grabbed her face again and kissed her deeply.

"Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas to you too."


	5. You Did A Number On Me

The next morning she got up when her alarm went off, after only a few hours of sleep. She brewed an extra strong pot of coffee and did her best to prepare herself for the day. When she got into the office. Her friend Serena came into her office with her typical cheery self.

"Merry Christmas hun! Did you have a good day?" She paused seeing how sleep deprived her friend looked, "oh are you ok?"

"Yea" she chuckled. “Christmas was real good. Shut the door, would you?"

Her friend shut the door behind her. "What the hell did you do yesterday?"

"I got lonely so I texted you know who, and he was over late"

"Girl! Did he stay over?"

"No, he felt bad that he kept me up so late. I texted him this morning and thanked him for coming over to keep me company when I was lonely."

"Has he replied?"

"No not ye-" she was interrupted by her buzzing on the desk in front of her, as if on cue. Serena grabbed the phone before Robin had a chance to pick it up.

"Brian, so at least now I have a name!" Robin snatched the phone out of her friend's hand and swiped the screen, a grin spreading across her face.

"What's it say?"

"He wants to bring me coffee." She said while typing the address of her office into the text message.

"Ooooh, he likes you a lot"

"Shut up" she said a blush spreading across her cheeks.

A little while later, she was paged on her work phone for a visitor at the reception desk. She had never heard the lady working at the front desk sound that excited before.

She went up to the front of the office to see Brian holding two large coffees, chatting with the receptionist.

"Hey, thank you" she said grabbing the coffee. "Want to come back to my office and chat for a bit?"

"Sure" he looked relieved to be pulled away from the receptionist. She looked back at him as he followed her to her office "what the hell was that about?"

"Fan of the show"

"Oh yeah, I get it."

She hurried past Serena's office as she didn't want to poke her head out and start playing twenty questions.

"Shut the door behind you" she said as she walked into her office. As he did, he grabbed her waist pulling her to him, kissing her.

"Thanks again for the coffee, and coming over last night."

"My pleasure. I was thinking about the New Year’s party. Since it’s out on Staten Island, do you just want to stay over at my place? Ya know, so you don't have to drive back to your place in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, sure, that sounds like a good idea. It wasn’t any problem for you getting back last night was it?”

“No, not at all, there’s just all kinds of crazy people out there on New Year’s. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to ya.” She smiled at the thoughtful comment.

They chatted a bit longer about the party and some of the people would be there. She was excited to finally meet a few of his infamous friends. Her email dinged on her computer and she looked over at the notification. It was from Serena and the subject line read “IS HE IN THERE?!” Robin rolled her eyes.

"I should let you get back to work."

"Ugh, yea, I'm not getting much done today, everyone I need to talk to is still out for the holidays. I can walk you back up front so you don't get lost back here." She stood up and came around her desk. "But before you go" she leaned up and kissed him. "Don't need to give those gossips anything more to talk about" she said breaking the kiss. He laughed as she lead him back out to the front of the floor she worked on.

"Talk to you later" he waved getting into the elevator.

"See ya." She turned and found the receptionist was staring at them, then went back to furiously typing on her cell phone. Robin sighed and headed back to her desk. _Well the office knows all about my personal life now, so that’s fun_ she thought to herself.


	6. I Do Bad Things With You

On New Year’s Eve, she got ready at her apartment, putting on plenty of glitter eyeshadow to match the glitter manicure that she had done the day before. She left her long brown hair down and straight. She had found a black dress with a strappy back and a triangle cutout below the chest, and pulled on some black tights since it was so cold out and her black ankle boots. _God I hope I don't look obviously from the Midwest_ she thought to herself as she left for Brian's house.

He heard the doorbell ring and looked at the cats who were looking at him wondering what he was going on.

"Be nice to her" he told his cats as he went to the door. "Hey come in, it's freezing out there."

"No kidding!" She replied hurrying in. "Oh my god! Look at the babies!" She squealed as she dropped her overnight bag and fell to her knees to pet the curious cats who had assembled at her feet.

He laughed "Yea, those are Benjamin, Chessy and Brooklyn."

"Oh I always forget how much I miss being around animals until I get to be around them again!" she said petting them all in turn.

"Well they seem to like you too" he said smiling down at the scene, a sense of calm comfort and happiness he hadn’t had felt in a long time washed over him. "Do you want to go over to the party?"

"Oh sure, let’s go" she said, righting herself. They got in the car and headed over to Sal’s house. When they arrived at the party, it was already full of people, music and drinks. They took off their coats and Brian stopped and stared as she slid off her coat, the pale bare skin of her back in the strappy dress catching his attention. When she turned to face him he had to stop his jaw from dropping to the floor.

“Goddamn Robin, you could have warned me about how sexy you look,” he whispered in her ear as he stepped closer to her.

“Sorry hun,” she laughed as a mischievous grin spread across her face. No one had acknowledged they had arrived yet so Brian grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him into Sal’s office down the hall.

He shut the door behind them and pressed her back against the door with a passionate kiss, one hand on her hip, the other bracing against the door. His lips made their way from her lips to her neck as the hand on her hip started to pull the hem of her skirt up. She reached down and pulled off her boots and kicked them away and then pulled off the tights and panties. Brian continued to work on her neck, hands roaming her body as she undid the button and fly on his pants.

He grabbed her under her thigh, and lifted her up and she wrapped her other leg around his waist, pulling him to her as he pushed into her. She let a moan slip out and he kissed her.

“Don’t be too loud unless you want everyone to know,” he said as he started moving. She let out another moan and gave Brian the most devilish look she could muster through the pleasure, and Brian almost lost it, his pace quickening.

“God damn” he muttered under his breath, he was getting close from the urgency and the thrill of the possibility of getting caught. He reached up and began to rub her clit and she bit her lip to keep from moaning out again. He finished and she went over the edge shortly after. They quickly fixed their clothes and slipped back out to the party.

"Hey buddy!" Brian greeted Sal and they hugged when they found him playing host back in the kitchen, mixing drinks for his guests.

"Hey! Is this..."

"Robin, yea hey" she replied with a wave.

"Good to finally meet you! I've heard a lot."

"Oh really?" She said with a look of amusement at Brian.

"Yea he doesn't shut up about ya."

"So you started the party early, huh buddy" Brian replied clapping his friend on the back, clearly a little embarrassed at his friend's honesty.

"And we're gonna go all night!" He said with his signature sassy voice, shoving drinks into their hands before running off to greet more arriving guests.

"He used to be a bartender"

"I can tell, this is really good!" she said taking a sip of her drink.

They mingled with the other partiers, but eventually Robin found herself separated from Brian and talking to some girls who "just needed to lose 5 pounds in the New Year" but weren't really interested in any of her advice, even though she explained to them that it was literally her job to help people get fit, and she knew what she was talking about.

"Hey ladies, I'm James." A guy said as he approached the group.

"Hey" Robin said with a smile, and before she realized it, the girls she had been talking with disappeared, as if they had met this person before and weren’t interested in spending a second more around him.

"I don't think we've met before?” He asked, trying to decide if he recognized her at all.

"Oh, I'm Robin."

“Nice to meet you. What do you do?” She started to explain her job and he seemed interested in having her come out to his office, as they had at least one guy who needed to “back off the donuts.”

"So, I've never seen you around one of these parties before, are you here with someone?"

"Oh yea, I'm here with Brian" and as if on cue, Brian appeared at her side and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Oh! Q, is this-"

"My girlfriend, yea, so don't be hitting on her, Murr."

"Ok ok, I didn't know!" He said to his friend, hands up defensively. "I mean, I wasn't hitting on you, not that I wouldn't!"

She glared at him with her eyebrows knitted together, and then broke the harsh expression with a laugh. "It's ok, I know what you mean."

"Ok good. I need a drink" he said before turning on his heel to leave.

"So..." She said, tilting her head to the side to look at Brian. "Girlfriend?"

"Yea! I mean, we don't, unless..." he stammered out, looking worried that he had overestimated their situation.

"No, no, if you're serious, I'm on board." She said with a reassuring smile.

"I am serious" he said grabbing her cheeks and pulling her face to his for a kiss.

"Mmm boyfriend" she murmured after they parted.

After going back for refills on their drinks and that loosened Robin up enough to go dance with the other partygoers. It had been a while since she was at a party where she had this much fun. She looked back at Brian who was sitting back talking to some people and she felt like she really belonged. She felt grateful that he let her into this circle of people.

It was almost midnight and glasses of champagne were being poured and passed out. Someone had turned on the ball drop on the TV, and then the countdown began.

"3, 2, 1! Happy new year!" Everyone yelled in union. Robin and Brian kissed and when they separated she downed her entire glass champagne. She was really feeling buzzed, and didn’t have a care in the world. She went back to dancing for a few more songs, until a slow track came on. She looked over at Brian on the couch and motioned for him to come over to her with a pouty face. He laughed and got up and slipped his hands around her waist and she placed her arms on his shoulders.

"I like you" she murmured.

"I like you too."

"Good."

"Wanna get out of here after this?" he asked.

"Yea probably. I realize how tired I'm getting now that I've slowed down" she said as laid her head against his chest, he rested his chin on the top of her head. After the song was over, she yawned, and plopped down on the couch. He went off to find Sal and say goodbye, and when he came back, he found her just about to doze off.

"Come on sleeping beauty."

“I’m not sleeping, you’re sleeping.”

“Nice one” he replied as he helped her into her coat.

“Thanks, I worked really hard on it.”

They walked out to his car and almost as soon as she was buckled up, she was resting her head against the cold window, asleep. He looked over at her and thought of how peaceful she looked. When he saw Murr talking to her, he felt a spark of jealousy which made him blurt out that she was his girlfriend. It could have freaked her out, she could have told him to slow down, or back off, but she was so chill. And she liked him back, this thought made him smile ear to ear as he pulled in his driveway.

“Hey, we’re home” he said shaking her knee gently to wake her. They hurried inside to get out of the cold, and traipsed up to his room. He went into the bathroom and she pulled off her clothes and took it upon herself to go into his closet and grabbed one of his FDNY shirts. Pulling it on, she went to her overnight bag and pulled out a hair tie, pulling her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head. He came out of the bathroom and saw her in his shirt and smiled.

“That’s a good look for you”

“You think?”

He nodded and started to get out of his clothes and she ducked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take out her contacts. When she came back out, he was already in bed, and she crawled in next to him.

“Thanks for taking me to that party, I had a really good time.”

“No one else I’d rather go with” he said kissing her on the top of the head.

She curled up against him and fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes. He laid awake for a few minutes feeling like 2018 was going to be a good year.


	7. And Our Pieces Fall Right Into Place

Robin woke up about 10 AM, with his arm wrapped around her waist. The sunlight was filling the room and she took it all in. The cats were in various places on the bed and one came up to check her out when it noticed her stirring.

As she petted the soft head of the cat, she thought about the events of the night before. She hadn’t danced like that in a long time, she hadn’t met so many cool new people in a long time. Brian introduced her as his girlfriend. _The last part was the best part_ she thought. She would have to finally tell Serena the details since she promised her that she’d tell her more when they became something real.

Brian slowly woke up and saw her awake, petting the cat, and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.

“Morning” he mumbled, still half asleep.

“Hey” she replied, rolling over to face him.

“Have fun last night?”

“Oh yea, thanks again for taking me along.”

“No one else I’d rather be with.”

She pressed a kiss into his lips and he pulled her closer to him.

“Want to stay in bed all day?” He asked after they separated.

“Ugh yes, that sounds awesome” she said pulling the blanket further up to her chin.

“I gotta get these cats some food” he said getting out of bed, and the cats followed a long. Robin put on her glasses and dragged herself to the bathroom.

“You want coffee?” Brian called from the kitchen.

“God, yes please” she said following the sound of his voice.

“Black, right?”

“Yes, good memory.”

He handed her a big mug of steaming hot coffee and smiled at the sight of her still in his shirt, and her glasses. “I like those, looks good” he said pointing at the frames.

“Oh yeah, I wear contacts most of the time, but not on lazy days.”

“I’d offer to make some food, but I realized I don’t really have anything unless you’re a cat. Wanna order something?”

“I’m pretty sure I’d kill for a burrito right now” she replied as he pulled up the app on his phone and placed the order for delivery.

Brian flopped down on the couch, and she laid down next to him and laid her head on his leg to watch as he scrolled through the Netflix menu, trying to find something to put on. After a few minutes Brian’s phone buzzed from the other side of him.

“Oh shit” he said with a chuckle.

“What’s up?”

“Joe’s pissed that I didn’t tell him that we were seeing each other so seriously, I guess he must have talked to Murr or Sal this morning.”

“Oh” she said sitting up. She wondered if he was regretting making their relationship an official thing the night before. Were things moving too fast? She would back off if need be, because she really liked him, but she didn’t want to force anything.

“I mean I haven’t talked to him about us recently. I’m not trying to hide you or nothing,” he looked worried that he had stepped in it. He didn’t want her to feel like she was second rate in his life, but he also was private about the details of his personal life. “Come here” he said holding out his arm for her to lean against him.

“Ok” she said rolling her eyes as he pulled her in close around her shoulder. A moment later the phone buzzed again.

“Food here?” She asked hopefully.

“No, Joe again. His wife is apparently on his case about going out and he’s suggesting a double date. I guess she hasn’t gotten much out since they had their last kid.”

“Domestic bliss, eh?” she pulled a disgusted face, but quickly realized that might not have been appropriate.

“Not a fan?”

She sat up again and pulled her legs under her and drew in a deep breath. She was hoping what she was about to say wasn’t going to ruin everything that had started to build between them.

“I have never wanted kids. I have no maternal instinct what so ever, and it’s just never been something I wanted for my life. Dogs, cats? Sure, I want lots! As for marriage, it’s not like my goal in life, but if it happens, that’s cool too. I just don’t like that society expects these sorts of things from me. And to be honest, the idea of permanence kind of terrifies me,” she said all at once. She looked up from the spot on the floor that she was focused on, to see that he was smiling reassuringly.

“Yea, I’m the same way. I guess I should tell you now that I almost got married once before” he replied.

“Oh really?” She asked, and he proceeded to tell her about how things fell apart, and how he wouldn’t bother with that whole process again unless the relationship was something more than he had ever experienced before.

“Soooo it seems like we’re on the same page with this sort of thing?” she asked tentatively.

“Yea I guess so” he said smiling and pulling her back so she was leaning against him again.

“I’ve always felt like I’d be a really cool aunt though, but I just don’t have any siblings. I’m just waiting for my friends to have kids so I can spoil them from afar. And the best part is, being so far away, I never have to babysit” she said laughing. It was then that the doorbell rang.

“Yes food!” she exclaimed as he got up to open the door. They spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV and relaxing until it was starting to get dark out.

“I should probably get going home. Even though that means I have to put on pants” she pouted. He let out a groan and squeezed her tightly.

“I like it when you’re here, especially without pants” he said kissing the top of her head. She peeled herself up and went back to his room to put on the clothes that she had packed the day before.

“I don’t want you to get sick of me” she said putting on her coat and stopping to pet the cats.

“Not gonna happen” he said getting up. “Call me when you get home safe.”

“Will do” she said leaning up to kiss him. “Talk to you soon” she said on her way out the door.


	8. It's So Simple

The next couple weeks of work were a total blur for Robin. She was traveling all over the city giving presentations and implementing programs at companies that had reached out to her employer to improve the wellness of their employees. Although the stress was starting to wear on her, she looked forward to the nights that she would be able to spend with Brian, it was always the bright spot in her schedule.

It was mid-morning on a bright and crisp late January morning when Brian realized how close he was to her office. He thought about stopping by, but decided to text her first, knowing how busy she had been.

"Hey, we're filming by your office, wanna grab lunch?" he texted. Usually she was prompt with her responses, but it took quite a while before he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.

"Not at work, dying at home."

"You sick?" He replied, confused and concerned. They had talked the day before and she sounded fine. She said she never really got sick beyond the occasional sinus headache. It was another few minutes before he got a response. 

"Woke up w/neck tweaked again. My head weighs a ton BTW" she replied. 

"Try to relax and I'll come by later."

At that point she decided to try to get out of bed and make watch some TV and distract herself from the pain. She supported the back of her head as she sat up with a groan and made her way to the bathroom to grab advil, and to the kitchen for her water bottle. Lying back down in the living room, she put on the Real Housewives and eventually dozed off. She woke up to the sound of her doorbell ringing and knocking on the door. When she opened her eyes realized the sun was starting to set.

"Yea, just a second" she shouted at the door, which suddenly seemed a thousand miles away, despite the small size of her apartment. She sat up slowly, holding her head and hurried best she could to the door. She opened it to see her boyfriend looking worried.

"Are you ok?" He asked coming into the apartment.

"I was napping I guess, why?"

"I tried to call ya, but you never answered."

She turned around and saw that her phone was just under the edge of the couch on the floor. "Sorry, it must have fell and I didn't hear it. Actually can you grab it for me, I'm afraid it will hurt if I bend down like that."

"What did you do that you're in this bad of shape?" He asked while retrieving the phone.

"Stress and I probably slept weird. This happens sometimes. I can't turn my head at all, it sucks so bad."

"Want me to massage it?" He asked handing back her phone.

"No thanks. That would probably hurt worse.  I'm just gonna lay back down. If I prop myself up right, I'll be ok."

"Shit, well I got you something" he said reaching in the shopping bag he had set down when he came in.

"Non-dairy Ben and Jerry's?! You remembered I'm a disgrace to my home state who can't eat dairy! Can you grab me a spoon? I'm sorry I'm so useless." He laughed at her delight over the treat and went to her kitchen to grab a spoon.

When he came back into the living room he saw her easing back against the pillows. He hadn’t ever seen her look the least bit weak before and he wanted to do something to help her, but he was at a loss.

“Sit with me” she pouted, pulling her feet back to make room on the couch. He sat down, but it seemed like he was afraid to touch her so she decided to prop her feet up on his leg. “I’ll be ok, it just takes a bit of time to loosen up.”

“You’re so tough, I don’t like seeing you like this” he said rubbing her leg.

“Aww you like me” she said grinning before spooning more ice cream in her mouth. It was then that he noticed the trashy show she had been watching.

“Well I thought I did, but you’re watching this garbage?” He said with a laugh and she kicked him lightly in the gut.

“Everyone watches trash when they’re home sick.”

“So you didn’t miss anything important at work, did you?”

“No, I have some follow up meetings next week, but this week was pretty light for me. I kept telling myself I’d sleep when the busy season was over, but I guess I’m out of commission now. Something to remember for next year.”

“What are you doing on February 1st?” he asked.

“I don’t think anything yet, why?”

“We got a party for the season premiere that night. We got a bar rented out and it’s usually a good time if you wanna come with?”

“Of course, sounds like a good time” she replied. Though they went out regularly, they hadn’t been to a party since the New Year party and she was ready for just such an occasion.

They sat together in a comfortable silence watching the mindless television show that played on the TV screen. It was getting late, and Brian headed back home after making sure she was comfortable on the couch, refilling her water bottle for her, plugging in her phone, bringing her Advil PM, and tucking her in. She told him where to find her spare apartment key so he could lock the door behind him and he promised that he’d be back the next day to check on her. She was grateful to have someone who cared enough to go out of their way to take care of her. _Maybe this is the real thing?_ she thought to herself, and then mentally shushed herself, reasoning it was too early to think that way.

The next morning she woke up with a bit more range of motion in her neck, but decided to call off work again anyway. _No reason to go in and make it worse with more stress_ she reasoned to herself. A bit before 9 her phone buzzed.

“You up?” Brian texted.

“Usually these texts come at like 1 AM”

“I’ll stop by before shooting then”

A short while later there was a knock and she could hear the lock in the door.

“Hey, how you feeling?” Brian asked while letting himself in.

“Better, but I probably look disgusting.” She hadn’t thought about the fact that she hadn’t showered, let alone brushed her hair, in over a day until he walked in. She sat up slowly and tried to stretch.

“Ya look fine, don’t worry about it. I brought you some of the best baked oatmeal you have ever had.” He said sitting down next to her with to-go package of food. They enjoyed their breakfast together before Brian had to leave for his day of shooting.

“Can I kiss you, or will it hurt too much?”

“Gently, please.” He carefully placed one hand on her cheek and pressed his lips softly against hers. When they pulled apart, she was blushing like a school girl.

“I’ll see you soon, try to have a relaxing day.”

“Thanks, try not to lose today” she laughed as he headed out the door.


	9. ...Ready For It?

The next week was the season premiere of the seventh season of the show. Robin dressed in a long sleeve magenta bodycon dress that she hoped wasn’t too sexy or fancy for the occasion. Brian picked her up and they got going to the bar that had been rented out for the occasion after a quick make out session in her doorway. When they arrived at the party, they found it was just getting started. The TVs in the bar all had the season premiere episode playing as all the crew and friends assembled. Brian took her hand and guided her through the crowd to the bar.

"Someone's a big deal" she whispered in his ear with a sly grin.

"Yea yea yea” he said wrapping an arm around her shoulder pulling her close.

They got their drinks and the head of the production team got up to give a speech commemorating the start of the 7th season. When they concluded, the bar started up the karaoke machine and some of the more inebriated party goers jumped up on stage for their moment in the spotlight.

Robin and Brian retreated to a corner of the room with Sal and a few other crew members where they could chat without having to shout over the singing. During a lull in the conversation, Brian looked over at Robin and realized she was watching the karaoke intently.

"You planning on going up there?"

"Maybe, if you get me drunk enough"

"Oh that can be arranged!" Replied Sal, excitedly.

"I mean if I embarrass you all, just remember who was buying me drinks" she warned as Brian and Sal both excitedly waved over the waitress.

"I'll have another Jameson, you want another beer?" Asked Brian.

"Bacardi and coke, I am on a mission now.” They all laughed at her determination to work up the nerve to get up and sing. The waitress brought back the next round and Robin quickly downed her drink. Another few singers took their turn, and she decided she was as ready as she was going to be.

"Ok, I'm gonna do it before I forget the words, or how to read. And I apologize to your ears now." She said to the group and ran off to the karaoke stage.

A familiar bass line came through the speakers and then the first words of the song.

"Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him, wonder how many girls he loved and left haunted"

Brian laughed, he should have known she’d pull out a Taylor Swift track, since she told him how much she loved her new CD. He was also pretty sure she picked the song for him. She was working the room, but kept locking eyes with him. She nailed each word and even threw in a shout out to Staten Island when the lyrics referenced an island. At the end there was a smattering of applause, but her table was really whooping it up for her.

“That was actually really fun, but I think I need another drink” she said when she returned to the table.

"You did good!" Brian reassured her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“I’m gonna get up there now" Sal announced and took off to the stage to belt out a Lionel Ritchie hit.

The waitress had brought her another drink and she drank it almost as quickly as the last.

"Ya know,” she said leaning in close to Brian’s ear, “I was singing that to you, ‘middle of the night’ ya know" she said with a wink.

“I guessed that, but probably not tonight though, you’re throwing them back pretty hard."

"Maybe get on my level?" She said laughing at her own comment. She was always her own biggest fan when she had been drinking. “I’ll be honest with you, I really hadn’t eaten hardly at all today because I gotta look good, right?” She said gesturing to her tight dress.

“You look good in everything.”

“I like you, you’re the best” she said burying her face on his shoulder.

They kept celebrating, until it was nearly bar time. Robin kept drinking as she had decided a couple drinks after karaoke that she would just call in the next day to work. The last shred of common sense in her head knew this was the nonsense a 22 year old version of herself would pull, but she couldn’t resist staying out with this hilarious group of people. She didn’t notice that Brian had left off drinking so that he could get them home safe.

“Time to go,” he announced as the bartenders announced last call.

“Aww, but I’m having fun still” she pouted.

“But if you come back to my place, you can see the cats.”

“BABIES!” She squealed, and threw back the last of her drink. “Let’s go!”

He laughed and they headed out from the bar to his car. The drive back to his place she sang along to the radio. She noticed Brian was very focused on the road, but she became worried he might be getting irritated with her.

“I’m sorry,” she pouted.

“For what?” He asked, glancing over at her.

“I’m annoying because I’m drunk.” She let the side of her head hit the window.

“Eh, you had fun, don’t feel bad.”

“You’re the best” she said, repeating the sentiment from earlier.

“I know.”

~

The alarm on her phone went off like normal at 5:30 am, but she woke up in Brian’s room, still buzzed. She fumbled off an email to her boss citing a headache as the reason she wouldn’t be in that day. She felt guilty for a moment, but let sleep wash back over her.

He woke up a bit later and saw she was still asleep next to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He wondered what he’d have to do to stay like this forever; with a women he cared about in his arms. He thought about how she was fearless to get in front of people she hardly knew to sing karaoke, how she understood his schedule and wasn’t on his case about how much he had to be gone because she had her own things going on. She had her own career, and was independent. It had been a very long time, but maybe this was finally real love.

She rolled over and looked at him with bleary eyes.

“Morning” he said quietly.

“Hey” she mumbled, and pressed her face against his bare shoulder.

“How you feeling?”

“Headache” came her muffled voice and he laughed quietly. She picked her head up and squinted at him, trying to intimidate him laughing at her pain. When that didn’t stop his laughs, she mustered her energy and pulled herself up and kissed him deeply.

“Usually a headache means this isn’t gonna happen” he said when they came up for air. She shushed him and started kissing on his neck. He grabbed her chin, pulling her lips to his. He let his hand roam up and down her body, eventually pulling off the tee shirt she was wearing. She let her hands slip below his waistband and ran her hand over him before pulling off his boxers, lowering herself slowly. They relished in the slow, drowsy pace of the morning sex.

“I just realized I have no contacts or glasses, and no clean clothes to put on this morning” she whined after they finished, rolling her face into the pillow. She usually planned things so well, but she felt embarrassed for completely dropping the ball.

“Here” he said getting up and pulling a pair of sweatpants from a drawer, and handing her a Batman shirt.

“Batman shirt for Robin, I get it” she said pulling the shirt over her head.

“You’re the Robin to my Batman.” He said with a warm smile.


	10. Lipstick On Your Face

The start of the new season of Impractical Jokers meant Brian was away more than his normal busy schedule for promotions and a flurry of tour dates, but they made sure they set aside Valentine's Day since they had only seen each other in person a couple times since the morning after the premiere party.

She wasn't sure what to do about a present for him. She knew what he liked; video games, comic books, hanging out with his podcasting friends, cats, but she was struggling to translate that into a present that wasn't totally cheesy. _Maybe that's the point of the holiday?_ She wondered as she made her way through the mall the weekend before the holiday, hoping inspiration would strike. As she wandered, she spotted a small gift shop so she went in to check out what they had. As she looked at all the items for sale, she found sets of rocks glasses with the different boroughs etched on them. She pushed the packages of Brooklyn and Manhattan to the side, silently praying they would have Staten Island. Finally in the very back of the shelf she found them. _He is gonna love this!_ she thought to herself as she made her way to the checkout.

The holiday arrived as a cold, gloomy day. She went to the gym, came home and got ready for work. She put on new lingerie she bought just for the holiday, a red pencil skirt, and a black V neck sweater. She had a meeting first thing in the morning, but when she got back to her office she found a bouquet of bright pink ranunculus had been delivered to her desk. She gasped when she saw them and grabbed the card.

"Happy Valentine's day, can't wait to see you. XO, Brian."

"Oooooh, what did you get?" Her friend Serena appeared in the doorway of her office. “Oh, not roses?”

"No, no, these are my favorite flower! I mentioned in passing that I think roses are kinda cliché, and how I like these so much better and I guess he was listening."

"Oh well, they are gorgeous! Do you have big plans tonight?"

"We're going to drinks and dinner and then just hanging out because he's been so busy."

"Well that will happen if you're dating a celebrity!"

"Shut up! It's not even like that. See, this is why I didn’t tell you right way." Her friend laughed at her and went back to her office.

The rest of her work day dragged by, the flowers reminding her of what was waiting at the end of the day. When the end of her work day finally arrived, she practically ran out the door to her car. They were meeting at the bar where they first met for happy hour. She grinned when she found him at the same spot at the bar where he was sitting when they met.

"Hey babe" he said getting up to envelope her in a big hug. "I've missed you."

"Ugh, I've missed you too," she said giving him a kiss when they pulled back from the hug.

She ordered her drink and they caught up on everything since the last time they talked. They were always texting and calling each other, but nothing beat talking face to face.

When they finished their drinks, they got in her car, since he had taken a cab over, and went for dinner at a tiny, warm Italian restaurant. The limited time they had been together the last few weeks really did make their feelings for each other stronger. They held hands as they sat across from each other and even though Robin felt a little silly, she couldn't deny the butterflies. He just wanted to hold her close and tell her everything he had been thinking about and feeling for her.

After they finished her meal, they went back to her apartment. As soon as she shut and locked the door behind them, his hands were pulling her to him, pushing her coat off her shoulders, lips crashing together. She guided him back to her bedroom and pushed him back onto the bed. She pulled her sweater off and slowly unzipped the skirt and let it slip down to the floor, unveiling the lingerie she had been hiding underneath.

"You're so fucking beautiful" he said, sitting up on his elbows. She straddled him and pulled his shirt over his head. Leaning into him, she kissed him on the lips, and neck, occasionally nibbling at him as well, as she ground her hips into his.

He reached back and undid the clasp on her bra and tossed it aside, hands grazing over her chest. She slid down his body and undid his belt, and pants, pulling them down. She couldn’t keep her hands off him now that she had him back in her bed after their time apart.

She pulled down his boxers and took him in her mouth as he let out a moan of satisfaction. She felt a sense of pride come over her at the reaction she was eliciting from him in that moment. He was running his fingers through her hair and she looked up and made eye contact with him. He let out another moan and he gripped her hair harder and she let out a moan of her own. That put him over the edge and she came back up to him.   
  
He rolled her over so he was over her and he pulled off her panties swiftly. He reached between her legs and set to work. He then brought his mouth to meet his hands. It was her turn for her moans to fill the room. He worked until she was almost to come when he stopped suddenly. Her whimper of disappointment turned to a moan of pleasure as he slid into her. They moved together, heat and friction building between them, until she reached her climax and he finished shortly after. They laid together, him holding her tight, how he had been wanting to for so long. He pressed a tender kiss to the side of her head.

"Oh, I forgot, I got you a present!" She unwove herself from his arms and he watched her long legs carry her back to her back to the living room and she came bouncing back into the room handing him the box.

"If you think its lame, that's ok, don't worry."

He pulled off the red wrapping paper and examined the box. “What?! These are awesome!” He said admiring the glasses.

"Good, I was hoping you liked them!”

He leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed his jacket from where he dropped on the floor. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her.

"I think you'll like it" he said as she tore into the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper.

"A spa day?! Oh my god, this is so thoughtful!" She hugged him and he laughed.

"Well since you were laid up with your neck, I thought you could use a day of pampering, ya know. If the day or time doesn't work, they said you can reschedule."

"No, this is good, thank you." She said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Robin" he said, his voice taking on a serious tone he took her hand. "I gotta tell ya, I missed you so much these last couple weeks. I uh," he cleared his throat "I love you."

The butterflies were back in her stomach and she felt her cheeks blush deeply.

"Oh Brian, I love you too" she replied with a big grin across her face. He grinned too and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her with all the passion that he had been holding in for weeks.

~

The next morning the alarm on her phone went off and she dragged herself out of bed to get ready for the work day. Brian was still asleep, and she didn't want to disturb him. When she came out of the bathroom and he was just starting to stir as she got dressed.

"Hey" he murmured.

"Hey" she said leaning down and kissing him. "You want me to make you breakfast?"

"Mm hmm" he replied, starting to doze back off.

She went to the kitchen and started making eggs, and poured coffee. A few minutes later he walked into the kitchen, looking slightly disheveled in the clothes he wore the night before.

"I was thinking" she said, handing him a cup of coffee, "if you wanna leave some clothes, or whatever, here, that would be ok with me. To make life a little easier, ya know?"

"I was gonna say the same thing, so you don’t end up having to ride home blind, like after the party" he said with a chuckle. Robin groaned, remembering the night she drank too much, and the hangover the next day.

"Mmm your coffee is so good."

"Thanks, I was a barista in college" she replied, proud of her coffee skills. He loved that he was always learning new things about her.

She handed him a plate of scrambled eggs with veggies. This morning felt so comfortable and right to her, she hoped he felt the same way. Since things were still new, each step felt like a leap of faith, but he was always there with her, each step of the way.


	11. Make All Your Grey Days Clear

The following weekend had him out of town again, flying out to do two shows. She knew he was coming back on Sunday morning and texted him to ask if he wanted to hang out.

"Come over" the reply read. She pulled on her winter coat, hat and mittens since it was quite cold and grey. She arrived at his place and knocked. She waited a minute and didn't hear a response. She used the key that he had given her before he left town to let herself into his house.

"Brian, you here?"

"Yea" his voice called from the bedroom. She walked in to the room and found him laying on his bed.

"Are you ok?" She asked, concerned at how off he seemed. He held up his arms and she crawled into his arms. "What's going on?"

"This time of year, sometimes I get really down, this weather has me all fucked up."

"Ohh," she replied, as she began to understand what he meant. "You know no matter what you need I'm here, whenever you need me."

"Thanks, love."

He held her close and tried to let the bad feelings and thoughts that were clogging his mind go. It wasn't a good day, but he knew that there were good days on the horizon, he just had to push through to them.

They stayed like that for a while until she started to get hungry. "Hey, do you have anything I can make for dinner?"

"Probably not," he replied.

"Ok, well I'm gonna run to the store and get some stuff to make you dinner and enough for leftovers too." She gathered up her purse and hurried out to her car, bringing up directions to the nearest grocery store on her phone. She bought vegetables to make a salad, chicken, and seasoning.

When she got back, Brian was sitting on the couch, flipping channels on the TV, his hair wet from the shower he took while she was gone. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Mmm, you smell good"

"Thanks, what did you get?"

"Chicken and salad. That's ok right? I guess I should have asked before running off."

"Yea, that's fine, thanks for taking care of this. Of me, I mean."

"Of course" she replied. She finished cooking, then plated two meals and packaged the rest up and stuck it in the fridge before they sat down to eat. At the table they discussed their upcoming schedules and Robin took notes in her planner, her race training in blue pen, her work schedule in black, his travel and work in purple because he told her it was his favorite color. He appreciated the way she so swiftly and easily took command of a situation, filling in boxes with plans.

"Do you ever let yourself go off plan?" He asked suddenly.

"Sure, but I try not to let it last for too long. Sometimes you just have to adapt, roll with the punches" she replied.

"But don't you ever want to run away and not worry about any of it?" he asked.

She paused for a moment considering the question. "Before I came out here, all I wanted to do was get in my car, drive away and start over. I don’t like when things are permanent, I kinda always want there to be an escape option available. I’m living the dream right now so it’s better, but some days I still just want to run away and scream because, I dunno sometimes I just wanna run away and scream."

"Sometimes I think I got too much going on, but I'm grateful for all of it," he replied. She nodded understandingly.

 “How are you doing now? Better?"

"Yea, thanks. You're keeping me distracted” he replied.

"Good" she said leaning down to kiss him. "I'm always happy to help."

~

On Thursday night, they had plans to hang out after he had a podcast recording session, but he had texted her that he didn't know if he'd be over since things were running long, but she told him to feel free to come over anyway when he was done if he wanted.

A few hours later, he was done and outside her door. He knocked and when she didn't answer, he took out the spare key she had given him and let himself in. He found her asleep on the couch. He leaned down and woke her with a kiss.

“Hey babe” he said as she woke up.

"Hey, sorry I fell asleep, what time is it?"

"9:15" he said glancing at his watch as she sat up.

"Ugh god, I am an old woman" she said running her hands over her face.

"Nah, you want old, it's almost my birthday" he said sitting down next to her.

"Oh that's right! What do you want to do?" She asked leaning against his side.

"I can think of a couple things" his arm snaking around her waist.

"Well of course there's that, but what else?"

"I dunno" he said rubbing the back of his head. "I don't need a big deal."

"Well it’s your day, I just wanna make you feel special" she said looking up at him smiling.

"God you're good to me" he said looking deep into her eyes.

"You’re worth it" she replied with a shrug, leaning in to give him a kiss.

~

The next morning, Sal felt his phone going off in his pocket, and it was a number and area code he didn’t recognize. He opened the text anyway.

“Hey Sal, its Robin. Just wondering if you had any plans for Brian’s birthday yet?”

He smiled to himself, he was glad that his friend had found someone who really seemed to care about him. He stored her number in his phone, something he didn’t do for just anyone his friends were seeing.

“Hey, I didn’t have anything, you have any ideas?”

“I don’t wanna overstep, but would you and the other guys wanna get dinner with us?”

“Yea that will probably be good” he replied.

“Cool, I’ll talk to him and we’ll get it set up.”

Sal slid his phone back in his pocket as his friend walked in for their day of filming.

“Hey man, your ears burning?” Sal asked slyly.

“No, why?” A look of confusion crossed Brian’s face.

“You got yourself a good girl there. She was asking about what I thought we should do for your birthday.”

“Yea, she was asking last night, she really looks out for me,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m fuckin lucky man.”


	12. All Eyes On You

Robin walked down to Serena’s office, knocking on her open office door. “Hey, I need opinions.”

“You know I got a lot of them!” She replied smiling at her friend.

“I need some place to get a group of people I’ve barely met together for Brian’s birthday.”

“Oh, that’s major. Hmm… I know this one speakeasy type place, you better call now to get reservations. Here, go check them out.” She said writing down the name of the restaurant on a post-it and handing it to Robin.

“Thanks, I want to make good impressions.”

“You’re fine, they’re all gonna be super impressed with you and this place.” Her friend reassured her.

~  
Robin called and made a reservation for six for the night of Brian’s birthday. When she told him the plans he seemed really pleased with what she had organized and that she wasn’t going overboard on him.

The night before his birthday she came over, and they spent the evening in bed, barely paying attention to the movie he had put on. The next morning he woke up and realized she wasn’t next to him in bed. He got up and dragged himself to the kitchen where he was greeted by the smell of fresh coffee and her just wearing one of his t-shirts, making pancakes. When she noticed he was up she grinned and bounced over to him, planting a kiss on his sleepy lips.

“Happy birthday hun!” She beamed.

“Thanks, how long have you been up?”

“Long enough to almost be done making breakfast, fed the cats, and drink two cups of coffee” she said flipping the last pancake onto a plate. She grabbed the maple syrup out of the fridge and poured it over her stack. He took his plate and flopped down on the couch where she joined him.

“Are you sure you gotta go to work today?” he asked between bites.

“Yea, sadly this isn’t a national holiday yet, but I’ve got a petition going, so hopefully next year” she said crossing her fingers. After she finished her breakfast she got up and got dressed for work.

“Ok, so I’ll meet you at the restaurant at 6:30.” She said leaning in to kiss him as he lounged on the couch. “Love you, see you tonight! Have a good day” she called as she shut the door behind him.

After work she ran back to her apartment and freshened up her makeup and changed into a more casual outfit. She pulled on black skinny jeans, heels and a flowy black top with a scoop back and bell sleeves. She arrived at the restaurant and waited for the rest of them arrive out front.

“Robin?” she heard someone ask, and she turned to see James.

“Hi, James right?”

“Yea, hey! Anyone else here yet?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“So you’re a runner right?” Murr asked after a few minutes of small talk.

“Yea, my first race of the year is about a month out. Do you run or anything?”

“Yea, I like to run, but I haven’t done any races.”

“You should sign up for a 5k or something, they’re fun, if you like paying for otherwise free exercise” she laughed.

“Let me know if you’re going to do one soon, maybe I’ll sign up too.”

“Murr, again, how many times I gotta tell you not to hit on my girlfriend?” Brian asked with a laugh as he walked up with Sal.

“I wasn’t!” Murr shrieked defensively and Robin started laughing at his reaction.

“Let’s go in and get our table” Robin said as she led the group in and the host took them to the back room that she had reserved. To get there, they had to go through a secret book case, as the whole atmosphere of the restaurant was 1920’s speakeasy.

Brian sat down, and Robin sat down next to him. Sal sat across from Brian and James sat next to Robin. Even though he was mostly joking about Murr hitting on Robin, Brian still felt a twinge of jealousy when they were talking, so he put his arm across the back of her chair.

A few minutes later Joe and Bessy arrived, and introductions were made as Robin had still not yet met them. They ordered their drinks and meals and enjoyed the jovial conversation.

“All right, all right, everyone be quiet” Sal said standing up, drink in hand. “We’re gonna toast to the birthday boy over here. To Q, you’re a good man, we’re all lucky to have you in our lives. Hope your next year is as good as your last.”

“Here here!” called Joe as everyone clinked glasses.

“I just wanna say thank you to everyone for coming out, and thank you to Robin for organizing this, because I know I wouldn’t do this for myself” he said as everyone laughed and he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. She blushed as she heard everyone aww in reaction.

Their meals then arrived and they all dug in. Everyone was complimentary to the choice of restaurant and Robin internally sighed in relief that the dinner had gone off so well. When the evening wound to a close, they all went their separate ways and Robin drove herself and Brian back to his place.

“Did you have a good birthday then?” She asked taking off her coat as they walked in the door.

“Well I can think of one thing that’s been missing” he said as he walked in behind her, placing his hands on her hips. He started kissing the back of her neck, shoulders and shoulder blades that were exposed from the back of her shirt.

“Mmm, I agree” she murmured as she let her head fall to the side. She turned around and kissed him, hands reaching up to undo the buttons on his shirt, making their way down to his belt buckle.

After they both were satisfied, they laid together in his bed catching their breath. He rolled over and brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

“I love you” he said looking deep in her eyes. “And I know you don’t like things that are permanent, but I’m in this as long as you want me.”

Robin felt like her heart was melting at the sentiment. The way that he understood her and her hang ups was remarkable to her. She knew that many of her opinions and goals in life were off-putting to people, but he was on the same page as her. She leaned in and kissed him.

“I love you too. You get me, and I appreciate it so much.” She wrapped her arms around and held him close as they fell asleep.


	13. I'm Yours To Lose

Robin had been training very hard for her first half marathon of the year, which was scheduled for the second Sunday in April. By the Friday before the race, she felt pre-race nerves setting in, and she was a ball of nervous energy sitting behind her desk at work. She almost jumped out of her skin when her phone buzzed.

“Hey, what’s going on?” she answered when she saw it was Brian.

“I just got great news! I got a meeting scheduled for the comic idea I’ve been working on. It’s gonna be another stop on my trip this weekend, but it’s a big deal.”

“Oh cool, when is it?

“Sunday morning. It’s not usual, but that’s when I’ll be coming through Jersey, and he’s available.”

"Brian, that's the morning of my first race of the year. I thought you said you were gonna be at the finish?" her voice taking a sharp tone.

"Well yea, but this is the only opportunity for this meeting" he replied matter-of-factly.

"Whatever." She sighed. She was disappointed and didn’t care that he knew. She was used to being by herself at races, it had always been hard to get friends or family to come cheer her on.

"I'll try to be at the next one, you got plenty right?"

"Yea" she replied, sounding exasperated. She knew spectating her running a race wasn't that exciting for anyone, and she couldn't blame him for something else coming up, but he had said he would be there.

"I'll take you out for dinner that night, whatever you want" he offered.

"Ok. I gotta go, I'll talk to you later" she said hanging up. She hated to cry at work, but she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. _Get your shit together_ she told herself, pressing her fingers against her closed eyes.

The morning of the race was bright and clear, but cold. She lined up at the start and had a strong race, but she struggled with her pacing. She set a new personal record, but was just shy of her goal time, which was incredibly frustrating. She knew that she'd have plenty of opportunities to hit the goal, but she kept replaying what she did wrong.

She grabbed a banana and a water and watched the awards get handed out to the age group winners. _If only I was back home instead of in this overcrowded hell hole, then I'd be up there too_ she thought to herself. She gathered up her things from the gear check and started the long drive home to shower.

When she got up to her door she found a bouquet had been delivered. She picked up the card which read "congrats on the PR, you'll hit your goal next time. Proud of you, love Brian"

Her jaw dropped. Not only did he check her results online, he had listened to her ramblings about her goal times and previous records. She had been giving him the silent treatment since she hung up abruptly on Friday, so she pulled out her phone.

"Thank you" she texted to him, and tossed her phone on the bed. She got into the shower and when she came out she saw he had responded.

"Sorry I couldn't be there, see you at 6?"

"Ok" she simply replied and went to make herself brunch.

~

That evening Brian knocked on her door to pick her up for their dinner date. She opened the door and smiled, but he could tell that it wasn’t completely genuine.

“Hey” she said letting him in.

“Hey, how’s it going? Sorry again for missing the race.”

“Eh, whatever. It could have gone better, but not every race is gonna be great.” She sounded dejected.

“Are you ok?” he asked. Normally she would greet him with a kiss, or a hug, or something, but she just went to grab her purse and jacket.

“I’m ok,” She said, forcing a smile. “Ready to go?”

“Yea, where to? Your pick remember?” He asked as they walked down to his car. She suggested a nearby diner, and they headed over. She was still short, but her icy mood seemed to be thawing by the time they finished their meal.

“Come on” he said getting back into his car. _Great, he’s probably gonna take me home because I can’t drop the attitude_ she thought to herself. But she just couldn’t shake the cloud that had been over her. Even with the thoughtful gestures, she just was so frustrated with how the last few days had gone.

He pulled up at a park with a walking path that lead down by the river. It was a cold night, and there wasn’t anyone around. They got out, and he took her hand and they found a bench by the water.

“I love water” she commented, letting the sound of it soothe and wash over her.

“I know.” He replied. They sat in silence for a few minutes before she got up, looked around to see if there was anyone nearby, and walked closer to the water. He watched her, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. He saw her take a deep breath and then she let out a long scream.

She let out all her anger, frustration, and stress that had built up in her all out. She felt the tears forming as she took another deep breath, before letting it all out again. Out of breath, she turned back to Brian and he looked shocked. She walked back over to the bench and flopped down next to him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Are, are you ok?” He asked.

“I am now. Like I said before, sometimes I just wanna run and scream, and I already ran today.” she sniffled. He wiped away a tear.

“Warn a guy next time before you do that!” He laughed.

A few weeks later while filming an episode, Murr approached Brian between shots.

“Hey Q, can I have Robin’s number?” Murr asked. Brian looked him confused.

“What? Why?”

“At your birthday we were talking about me signing up for a run, and I wanted to know if she’d help me train.”

“I don’t know, she might not want to cause she’s got all her training plans already set up from now until her next marathon in the spring” he said fumbling to pull out his phone and handing it to James. Brian watched as Murr entered her number into his phone, that feeling of jealousy coming over him again. After that they were called back to shoot Murr’s turn and Brian made sure to go hard on him to get him to lose. When they got their next break, he called Robin.

“Hey hun, what’s up?” She asked when she answered.

“Hey, so you might be getting a call from Murr soon, he wants your help to do a race or something” he replied.

“Oh awesome!” She responded. “I’ll be happy to help him out.”

“Don’t feel like you have to or anything.”

“It will be fine, oh I think a text just came through from him.” She responded cheerfully. She was oblivious to the nervousness Brian was feeling on the other end of the line.

~

A few days later Robin was at Brian’s house, they were lounging on the couch, and she was explaining how she and Murr had signed up for the same race at the end of the summer, and she had recommended a training program to him. She was explaining how she thought that training for the shorter race may help her speed, but as she rambled on, she noticed Brian seemed agitated by the topic. She had noticed that he had been distant the last few days since Murr had initially reached out to her.

“Brian, are you ok?” she asked.

“I’m fine.” He replied curtly. She sat back and squinted at him, knowing him well enough by now to know that he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

“Brian, what the hell is your problem?” She asked exasperated.

He sighed as he got up and paced across his living room and ran a hand through his hair. His face showed he was clearly frustrated and anxious to say what was on his mind.

“Just tell me goddamn it.” She shouted. She hadn’t ever raised her voice at him, but she didn’t like the feeling between them in that moment.

“I’m afraid if you spend time with Murr you’re gonna realize you have more in common with him and leave me for him.” He snapped back, clearly distressed.

“Oh my god, Brian,” she felt her heart drop with his words. She recognized this wasn’t an issue of trust, but rather an issue of self-confidence. She got up and walked over to him and touched his cheek. “I love you, and only you. There is no way Murr of all people is going to come between us because we share some interests. Please don’t worry about this.” She leaned in and kissed him.

When they separated, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you too. I just don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t, don’t worry.”


	14. Scratches Down Your Back Now

At the start of summer, Brian and the other Jokers were out of town filming their movie. Robin took advantage of this time to really work on her training, but she and Brian had a standing date every night to video chat, or at least call each other. The feelings between them continued to grow stronger as they counted down the days until he returned to New York for good.

She was waiting for his flight to arrive at JFK and sipped her coffee. She tried to keep her excitement from being too obvious to the people also waiting for the arrivals. When she checked her phone and saw that he would arriving any second, she felt the butterflies even more.

“Babe!” She heard him call, snapping her attention out of her phone. She grinned and let you a squeal of excitement as she rushed to his open arms. He wrapped her in a big hug, pulling her off the ground. When he set her down she grabbed his face and pulled him to her, kissing him with every ounce of energy that had built up for the past few weeks.

“I missed you,” she said as they pulled apart.

“Missed you too, let’s get my stuff and get out of here,” he said as he put his arm around her shoulder and they walked toward the baggage claim to retrieve his luggage.

When they got into her car the sky had grown dark and big raindrops had begun to fall from the sky. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. He ran his hands over the parts of hre body he could reach from the passenger seat and she ran her hands through his hair.

“Back seat?” He asked breathlessly as her lips moved to his neck. She paused and looked out the windshield and didn’t see anyone nearby in the parking lot. She nodded and crawled between the front seats and he popped out of the passenger side door and into the backseat.

He undid his pants and pulled himself out and she slid off her shorts and panties and climbed onto this lap. She began to ride him, their time apart fueling a fiery urgent passion. She moaned as she ground her hips into his.

“Babe, I’m close” he moaned after a few minutes. It was moments later that he was spent and she finished shortly after. After fixing their clothes, she slipped back into the driver’s seat and he got back into the passenger seat. He let his head all back against the headrest and sighed contentedly as she finally set off to her apartment so he could pick up his cats that she had been watching.

“Have you gotten more beautiful?” he asked and she laughed.

“You’re clearly delusional from your travels,” she said smiling, but rolling her eyes.

“No, you’re a real sight for sore eyes. I’m so glad to be back here with you.”

“Yea, I like having you here too.” She wanted to tell him she didn’t want him to leave her for that long ever again, but she didn’t want to say or do anything to hinder his career because she knew he wouldn’t stand in the way of her dreams. The longer he was gone though, the less intimidated she was at the idea of committing to him in a more real way.


	15. We Break Down A Little

“Hey Murr, what’s up?” Brian asked when he saw his friend was calling.

“Q, don’t freak out,” Murr started, and with those words, Brian immediately felt his heart rate increase and worries began flooding his mind.

“What’s going on?” He asked trying to remain calm.

“Robin and I are out running, and she fell and there’s a lot of blood, but we’re by a hospital so we’re going to the emergency room because she’s probably going to need stitches.”

“Is she ok?!” Brian asked in a panic as he started to pull on his shoes.

“Yea, she’s going to be fine, we’re walking over now.”

“I’ll meet you there.” Brian said hanging up and rushing out the door.

~

Brian hurried through the doors of the emergency room and looked around the waiting room. It wasn’t too full, but didn’t spot them.

“Hi, I’m looking for Robin Smith,” he asked at the administrative desk.

“And you are?” The tired looking lady behind the counter asked.

“Her boyfriend,” he replied, getting agitated.

“Sorry, family only can go back. Policy.”

Brian instantly felt the anger rise up in him, who was she to keep him from seeing his girlfriend? He was about to argue back, but felt his phone going off in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was Murr.

“Hey, are you here?”

“Yea, but they won’t let me back.” He said as he walked away from the desk. “How’d you get back there?”

“I don’t know, I just came back with her. I’ll come get you, hang on just a minute.”

Brian loitered over by the doors he assumed Murr was going to come through, pretending to be engrossed in his phone. After a couple minutes Murr quietly pushed the door open and Brian slipped back with him.

“Are you ok?” Brian asked as he finally got to where Robin was waiting.

“Yea, as good as can be expected.” She said rolling her eyes.

“What happened?” He asked as he looked at the cuts, his firefighter training instincts kicking in.

“Like Murr told you, I was just running along, and I wasn’t looking at where I was going and I hit an uneven sidewalk and landed flat out. I got real unlucky and landed on some glass that was on the ground. So Murr helped me up and I was bleeding pretty good, so we came right here. They’re gonna get it cleaned out and stitch up the deeper cuts.”

“But you’re ok?” He asked, concern still in his voice.

“Yea, I’ll be ok.”

“You’re so tough.” He replied rubbing her leg and she smiled at him.

“And she can curse like a sailor” Murr commented with a laugh.

“Fuck right I can,” Robin replied with a laugh as well. “But seriously, Murr, thank you for being there to help.” She said waving him over to her with her good arm for a hug.

After a short wait, the nurse came back in and started to work on the back of Robin’s arm, carefully cleaning the wounds that ran from the palm of her right hand to her elbow, stitching and bandaging her up. They put her arm in a sling since her elbow took the brunt of the injury and immobilizing it would help speed up recovery. They also bandaged up her knee which got scraped and bruised, but wasn’t nearly as damaged.

When she was released, Brian gave Murr a ride home and went with Robin back to her apartment.

“Hold on,” he said hopping out of the jeep and running around to the other side of the vehicle to open the door for her.

“Oh my God, I’m not that fragile,” she scoffed.

“Would ya just let me do this?” He replied as she got out. She sighed and let out a chuckle as he held the door to her building open and her apartment door open for her as well.

“I hate to be treated like I’m delicate, but I have to admit, this chivalry is kinda nice.”

“Whaddya mean? Aren’t I always a perfect gentleman?” Brian asked with an air of faux offense.

“You’re wonderful and I love you,” she said patting his cheek with her uninjured hand. She sat back on the couch and sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. “The faster I can heal the better. I can’t not workout, especially not in the middle of a training cycle.”

“Right” she heard him say from her room. Confused at what he was doing in there, she got up and went into her room as well. She found him digging through her clothes, a pile assembling on her bed.

“What the hell is going on in here?” She asked.

“I’m gonna take care of you for a change, and it will be easier if you come and stay with me. I can help you get ready and drive you to work until the sling can come off.” He said matter-of-factly.

Robin laughed a little and sat down next to the pile of clothes. She thought briefly about how much of a struggle it was going to be to get out of the sports bra she was still wearing from her run and how much it would hurt and set her back if she accidentally ripped out the stitches.

“Ok, fine” she sighed. She didn’t like the idea of having someone take care of her, but knew this would be for the best. "But can I pick out my own clothes? I can’t wear my Star Wars shirt to work unfortunately.”

~

“That lady at the hospital is still pissing me off,” he said after they got her things unloaded at his place. They were sitting on the couch, his arm around her and she propped her injured arm up on his leg.

“I know! Like just because we aren’t blood related, or legally… whatever, we can’t see who we want to see in a time of need? It’s such a narrow world view to define family like that.”

“Yea,” he agreed. He looked down at her sitting against him. That protective feeling that had when he first saw her in the emergency room sprung up again. They had both discussed early on in their relationship that neither of them necessarily cared about getting married, and she had admitted the thought of commitment scared her, but he knew he wasn’t going to let her go, and he didn’t want to lose her, she was too special, one of a kind, especially to love him like she did. “Although,” he started before trailing off, nervous to verbalize his thoughts.

“Hmm?” she said looking up at him, eyebrows knitted together.

“I mean, we could, if you wanted to,” he trailed off again.

It took her a moment to process what he was getting at. _Is he really suggesting what I think he is?_ she thought to herself. She felt a flush creep over her cheeks and a nervous feeling started twisting in her gut. “Maybe, one day,” she paused after emphasizing those words, “we get legally… whatever?”

“Yea, if you would want to” he said, his voice getting quieter, staring straight ahead.

She let the thoughts rattle through her mind. She had been warming to the idea of commitment for a while, but when confronted with it, her gut instinct was still to get incredibly nervous by the idea. _Why, though?_ she thought. _What would really change if you got legally committed as opposed to what you have now? Expectations of society? Who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks? You haven’t cared for 30 years, why start caring now?_ She looked up at him and he looked down at her and she nodded silently. He smiled and she smiled back, settling back against him.

~

After about a week, Robin was healed enough that she was able to stop wearing the sling and was able to get back to her normal routine. She appreciated the attention that Brian had been lavishing on her, helping her get ready in the morning, driving her to work, but she did feel a little embarrassed as she was sure she could have managed on her own if she had to.

But that was the thought that she kept coming to mind over and over again; she didn’t have to manage on her own because she had someone who was willing to help. He didn’t throw it back in her face, he didn’t say or do anything to make her feel like he thought less of her, or like she owed him something to even the score. In fact, he seemed to enjoy their extra time together and getting to help her. _Maybe that’s what that commitment bullshit really is all about_ she thought to herself as Brian drove her back to her apartment.

“So you glad to be getting back to normal?” he asked glancing over at her as she stared out the window at the traffic.

“Eh, yea I guess. But I did like the extra time with you and the cats,” she replied.

“When’s your lease up?” he asked out of the blue.

“Oh, umm, I renewed my lease while you were out filming the movie,” she said, suddenly wondering if she should have talked to him about it first. He glanced over at her again and saw the look of worry on her face.

“Oh, that’s alright. I was just wondering ‘cause I thought this past week was a good time having you stay at my place.”

“Yea, I did too,” she replied, sounding disappointed.

“But if you wanna try to get out of that lease, or something, I like having you around,” he said glancing over at her with a smile.

“Yea, it was nice, wasn’t it? I guess I could take a look of my paperwork and see what options there might be.”

He was relieved that she didn’t jump out of the car and run away screaming like he halfway thought she would when he broached the topic. He wanted to keep the good momentum of their relationship going. He hadn’t been this happy in a long time and didn’t want it to end.


	16. Back Against The Wall

The end of the summer meant that Robin was in high gear training for her fall races. The race that she ran with Murr went well, and she could tell that she had built up some real speed. She had one last half marathon on her calendar and she still had one last goal time she wanted to hit before she started training for her Boston Qualifying attempt in the spring.

On a Friday toward the end of August, Brian had been scheduled to film, but Sal had to call in sick, so Brian called Robin to see if she was busy. She had taken a day off to deep clean her apartment, and then was going to treat herself to some shopping for new fall clothes after getting everything done. She told him she had no intentions of stopping what she was doing since that was her plan for the day, but told him he could come over to her apartment to hang out if he wanted.

When he came in she was scrubbing her kitchen floor. He let a groan slip out when he saw her on all fours in her black cotton shorts and a hot pink bra, which he could see clearly through her thin white tank top. Her hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head. Something about her looking slightly disheveled, instead of neat and pulled together like normal, got him going instantly.

“Hey, be careful if you come out here, the floor is slippery on this end of the kitchen.” She called over her shoulder.

“When are you going to take a break?” He asked leaning in the doorway after a few minutes of watching her toil on her hands and knees, all kinds of dirty thoughts running through his mind. She sighed and examined the work she had done so far.

“I suppose I could be done for a little bit,” she said sitting back on her heels.

“Good,” he replied, his voice deep and gruff with lust. She looked up at him as he pulled her to her feet, and then grabbed her waist and plopped her up on the counter, hands sliding under her thin tank top to pull it off and toss it aside, his lips on her neck.

“Oh my god,” she moaned breathlessly, surprised at the swiftness of his actions.

“I couldn’t wait much longer,” he said as he tossed the tank top aside his hands quickly returning to her breasts. She started kissing his neck and nibbled on his earlobe.

She pulled his tee shirt off and ran her hands up his chest. “You’re so sexy,” she purred. He groaned in response, kissing her deeply.

One of his hands drifted down her body to her shorts and he started to rub between her legs, she let out a gasp at the feeling. He reached for the waistband of the shorts and she lifted herself off the counter for him to slide the shorts and her underwear off. He then undid his shorts, and let them and his boxers fall to the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she scooted closer to the edge of the counter and he pushed into her.

He groaned at the sensation of her around him and started to move. She leaned her head back against the cupboard behind her and let him take in the sight of her body. The position was doing everything for her and she felt herself building quickly.

“Oh my god, I’m getting close,” she murmured.

“Me too,” he muttered as his lips latched on to her neck again. He reached down between her legs to help her and she finished moments after him.


	17. All Eyes On Me

Robin’s birthday was in September and Brian wanted nothing more than to make it a special day for her as she had made his birthday for him, even though she insisted that she didn’t want anything special.

The morning of her birthday she woke up in her apartment and rolled over expecting to find Brian next to her, but his spot was already cold. Slipping on her slippers, she followed her nose to the kitchen where Brian was making her pancakes, just like she had done for him on his birthday.

“What’s all this?” she murmured sleepily, a smile growing at the sight of a stack of chocolate chip pancakes.

“The best birthday breakfast there is” he said with a grin, handing her a plate. “Happy birthday gorgeous!”

“Thanks,” she laughed as she sat down in front of the maple syrup and a mug of steaming coffee.

“So are you excited for your big day?” He asked as he stuffed a forkful of pancake into his mouth.

“Yea, I guess so. I’m supposed to do a skype call with my parents today, which I’m a bit nervous for, but I’m looking forward to going out tonight.”

“Just think of it as a reward for getting all that other stuff done,” he replied as he finished off his pancakes.

“I can think of a few other rewards I might like as well,” she said with a grin.

“Oh yea?” he asked, eyebrows raised, a devilish grin forming.

“Yea, like a whole sheet cake. I’ve always believed that I could finish one all on my own, I just haven’t tried yet,” she said with a laugh.

~

Robin had requested to leave work an hour early, so she could get home to have her skype date with her parents. Her mother was her usual passive aggressive self, and had nothing nice to say about Brian’s show, which they had started watching. At one point her mom almost went to so far as to accuse him of being the reason Robin hadn’t come how to visit in almost a year.

“Or maybe I haven’t been back because I’ve decided exactly who and what I want in my life, and that doesn’t include people who incessantly guilt me for bettering myself” she snapped back. She could feel her eyes welling with tears as her Mom got up from the other side of the screen. Her Dad apologized for her Mom before they ended the call.

After giving in to her tears, Robin distracted herself with Facebook messages from friends wishing her a happy birthday until her doorbell rang. _Shit!_ She thought, unaware of how much time had passed, and now Brian was at her door and she wasn’t ready to go. She hopped up from the couch to let him in, forgetting about the tears that she let spill over once she had ended the call.

“Hey,” she said as she opened the door. In one hand was a bouquet of ranunculus, and in the other was balanced a store bought sheet cake with Happy Birthday emblazoned across the top, surrounded by bright sprinkles. “Oh my god, this looks amazing!” She exclaimed, distracted by the gifts, but Brian had zeroed in on the streaks of makeup that had run down her cheeks.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked as he set the cake down on her coffee table so he wouldn’t drop it, a look of concern on his face. He placed his hands on her cheeks and tried to wipe off the makeup.

“Oh, god, yea,” she said noticing her reflection in the mirror on the wall, she resembled Alice Cooper. “Skype with my parents. It’s apparently all your fault I haven’t given up on living my best life out here and returned to Wisconsin to live some kind of boring, cheese fueled existence,” she said rolling her eyes.

“Ah well, fuck that, they’re probably just jealous that you are actually doing what you want to.”

“I know right? Anyway, I’m gonna change and clean up a little, I’ll just be a second,” she said before hurrying to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

A few minutes later she reemerged and Brian was rendered speechless. She was wearing a sheer black lace dress with a high neckline and a hem that reached her knees, and underneath the lace was a tight slip allowing just the right amount of skin to peek through. She loved that the dress felt a little gothic, it was just right for fall.

“Babe, you’re always killing me with these dresses,” he said as he pulled her to him as he sat on the arm of her couch.

“Thanks hun,” she said with a grin before planting a kiss on his lips and grabbing her purse. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

He had half a mind to blow off their reservations and take her to the bedroom and not reemerge until morning, but he was hungry. He had made reservations at a trendy steakhouse in Manhattan. Robin did feel a little out of place at such a fancy location, but tried not to let it show.

“You ready for your present?” He asked as they were finishing their meals. Robin nodded with an excited look on her face, despite having her mouth full.

He reached into his jacket pocket and suddenly she felt a rush of nerves. _Wait, I have no idea what he got me, I hate surprises_ she thought. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. She carefully slid a finger under the flap and pulled out the paper inside. It was a flight itinerary.

“A trip?” She asked, looking up at him with a confused smile.

“Look at the next page,” he said with a nod. Flipping to the next page, she found reservations for a resort in Key West.

“Wait, is this for real?” She asked, stunned by the generosity of the gift.

“Yea, I booked it for over the holidays. I was thinking we would celebrate our anniversary then too.”

“Oh my God, this is the best birthday present ever!” She said leaning across the table to kiss him. “Thank you so much I love it and I love you!”

“Are you sure the cake doesn’t beat it?”

“Oh yea, the cake. Well it’s a close second then,” she said with a laugh. “Can we finish up here so I can go demolish that thing?”


	18. All Eyes on Us

“Are you sure you don’t regret this yet?” Robin asked as Brian carried in the last box of her belongings into his house. She had finally agreed to move in with him after she found someone to sublet her apartment until the lease ended. Since her injury she found herself spending more and more time at his place anyway, and she decided she may as well make it official and move in.

“It’s been a while since I helped someone move, I forgot how heavy vinyl albums can be.”

“Sorry, I can’t help it when you guys have so many awesome record shops out here!” She replied with a grin, flipping through the contents of another box that was brought in earlier. “Should I just wait to unpack until after the party?” Since Halloween was both of their favorite holiday, they had decided to throw a costume part. Decorations already covered every spare inch of space, and unpacking would prove difficult.

“Yea let’s just move the stuff that’s in the living room into the spare room, and hope no one goes in there,” Brian replied as he picked up the box he had just set down.

“You mean like when we snuck into Sal’s office at his New Year’s party?” She asked with a devilish grin.

“Exactly like that,” he said with a chuckle, thinking fondly back to that night.

The next night the kitchen was stocked up with drinks and snacks. A killer playlist was prepped and ready to go, and the newly cohabitating couple were putting the finishing touches their costumes, which were appropriately enough, Batman and Robin.

“Well if this doesn’t scream Boy Wonder I don’t know what would,” she joked as she stepped out of the bathroom in the sexed up costume. The shiny dress was printed to look like the Robin costume: a green skirt, and low cut red top, R insignia, and yellow cape. She had on black thigh boots and styled her hair into a bouffant.

Brian pushed up his Batman mask and let out a whistle. “Sexiest boy I’ve seen in a long time.” Robin let out a laugh.

“Wanna rethink that phrasing?” She asked and he shrugged in response.

Soon enough, guests started arriving and the party was in full swing. Robin found herself socializing easily with the group that had quickly become her friends since Sal’s New Year’s party. Brian and Sal eventually found themselves in a quiet corner sipping their drinks.

“So you finally wore her down until she gave up her perfectly good apartment to come live with you in this glorified comic book shop huh?” Sal asked.

“I think it was the cats that really won her over,” Brian replied with a laugh. “I didn’t wanna push her into it too much, but she finally came around. And I’m really glad she did.”

“I mean I knew you loved her and all that, but damn,” Sal said shaking his head with a grin. “I don’t think, no I know, I haven’t seen you like this before.”

Brian shrugged as he took a drink, looking at her across the room. She caught his glance and smiled back and then rolled her eyes in reaction to Murr talking her ear off about something she was only mildly interested in. “I’d have you marry us right now if she’d go for it.”

“Fuck me, are you serious?”

“Can you think of a better time than Halloween?”

“About a dozen.”

“Eh, like I said, I’m not gonna force anything with her, she’ll come around.”

“I bet she will, she’s gotta be crazy about you too.”

“I can only hope.”


	19. Gold Cage, Hostage To My Feelings

When Brian’s filming schedule wrapped up for the holidays, they made their way south to the Florida Keys to celebrate a year of their relationship. They spent a week relaxing and just enjoying being together and away from all the responsibilities of life.

As the bitterly cold New York winter melted into spring, Robin’s marathon training was in high gear. June was rapidly approaching and they finalized their plans to finally visit her family in Wisconsin on their way up to Duluth Minnesota for the marathon. She wasn’t sure which part of the trip had her more nervous: facing her family for the first time in a very long time, or trying to run 26.2 miles in less than 3 and a half hours to qualify for Boston.

Robin had talked about her concerns with her Dad before they arrived, and when they landed in America’s Dairyland, she was relieved that her Mom was not nearly as hostile as she anticipated. After a successful visit, the couple journeyed north for the race.

The morning of the race was overcast and rain had been a possibility all week. She had barely slept the night before due to nerves, despite knowing she could use every bit of energy possible. Robin kept reminding herself that she had trained correctly, focused so hard on her nutrition, rest, cross training, and everything that it was going to take for her to finish at her goal time. She just needed to trust the process.

When it was finally time for her to get out of bed, she got up careful not to disturb Brian who was still asleep, despite her tossing and turning all night. She slipped into the bathroom to start to get ready. As she was pinning her bib to her shirt, Brian appeared in the doorway, startling her.

"You ready for this?"

"Oh my god, I didn't know you were up. Yea, I'm as ready as I’m gonna be. I mean I know I can finish and get the metal, it’s the BQ I’m concerned about." Her voice was tense, giving away the nerves that were racking her.

"Hey, you're gonna get it today" he said taking her shoulders in his hands and peering into her eyes. "I believe in you."

"Thanks" she replied, still tense. She wouldn’t feel better until she was running. She grabbed the breakfast she had brought with her and boarded the shuttle to the starting line. Brian had staked out places along the route where he could cheer for her.

When her wave finally got to the start, she felt the nerves shake off. It was just time to do the work. She had to trust her training, trust her fuel strategy, and try to enjoy the experience even if it went sideways.

The first 10 miles felt fine. She was able to hold her pace, and she spotted Brian just before mile 11. She grinned and sped off, feeling a jolt of happiness from seeing him. Once she hit the 14 mile mark, things started to hurt. It was always after passing  the halfway mark that she regretted not sticking to half marathons, but she was still on pace for her goal. At mile 18 she spotted Brian again and smiled feeling like him following her along the course more than made up for every race he had to miss leading up to this.

She was almost to the last mile marker and everything hurt. Everything. She was chafing in places she wouldn't have dreamed she could chafe, but the last time she ran a marathon it was a whole different experience. She glanced at her watch as she neared the finish and realized that she had done it, she was about to qualify for one of the most prestigious races in running. Her heart was in her throat and she could feel tears of pride filling her eyes. She had worked so hard for this goal, and she was actually about to accomplish it. She crossed the finish in 3:29:42, and she knew she had made it.

She continued down the long finish shoot, grabbing her finishers metal, water and a banana. She was scanning the crowd looking for Brian. She got to the end and found him almost behind the corner of a building, back from the crowd. He grinned when he saw her and she grinned back racing to his arms, suddenly finding renewed strength in her legs.

"I can't believe it! I did it! I'm gonna go to Boston!" She screamed. "I'm in shock!"

"I know!" He replied, kissing her despite the salt and sweat that covered her face. “I’m so proud of you!”

“I couldn’t have done it without your support,” she said looking him directly in the eyes. “You helped me stay focused on training, you believed in me, and encouraged me the whole time! Thank you!”

“Of course, I love you,” he replied he said scooping her up in a big hug again. After getting something more to eat, and stretching a bit, they made their way back to where he had parked the car, adrenaline beginning to receded, but the smile was still plastered across her face.

As they drove back to the hotel, she reflected back on the last year and a half. Everything she had told him at the finish line had been true. He was just as much the reason she was going to Boston as she was. They still had a couple more days before they flew back to New York.

“Hey Brian,” she said tentatively.

“Yea?” he replied.

“Wanna do something really crazy before we go back to New York?”

He glanced back over at her with an eyebrow raised and she grinned back devilishly.


	20. I'm Yours To Keep

When they returned back to New York, life went right back to its usual routine. Brian reported bright and early for filming, sauntering in with an iced coffee in hand, joining his already assembled friends.

“Hey how was the trip?” Murr asked. “I saw online she got her BQ time, that’s awesome!”

“Oh yea? I bet you gave her the ol’ BQ a few times,” Joe said wiggling his eyebrows up and down at his blue joke, and Sal cackled along.

“Hey, wouldya lay off talking bout my wife like that?” Brian replied his eyes not breaking from his phone, but he was struggling to suppress a smile from growing across his face.

“Your WHAT?!” Sal shouted as the other friends stood in awe trying to take in what they just heard.

~

“Hey Serena, how’s it going?” Robin said popping her head into her friend’s office.

“Good! Congrats on your BQ, that’s amazing!” Her friend grinned back at her.

“Thanks! I was wondering, who is our IT person, or whoever sets up our emails?”

“Umm I think his name is Brett, why?”

“Oh I need to update my last name,” Robin said as she casually walked away from her friend’s office.

“Update your WHAT?!” She heard her friend shout as she grinned to herself as she quickened her pace.

When she got to her office, she closed the door behind her and sat at her desk. She adjusted the new picture in the frame that was next to her computer from just a couple days before. She smiled at her own smiling face, next to Brian’s under the pine trees of northern Wisconsin.

She knew that if she was going to commit to anyone, it was him because he helped her to be a better person, to be more than she thought possible. Being with him, committing to him, wasn’t going to put a damper on her life, she wasn’t going to suddenly be old or boring just because her tax filing status was going to change. But she also knew herself, and she knew if they were going to do this, they had to act quickly, before her nerves got the worst of her.

On their way back from Duluth, they found a Target and she found an off-white, sleeveless lace dress with a high neck and he found a nice button up shirt. As they made their way to the checkout he pulled her over to the jewelry case.

“I thought you didn’t believe in jewelry?” She asked, skeptically.

“I thought you didn’t believe in marriage?” He retorted.

“Touché. I suppose if you really want to do this right,” she said walking over to the case. Nothing seemed right to her until she spotted it. “There, that one, the one that’s less than $40.” She said beaming at him.

They had called up one of her friends who was ordained and her parents to witness the occasion. She was a little surprised that her mother had agreed to come, since this cemented her living in New York, but she was there smiling proudly. They met everyone at a state park not too far from where she would vacation in the summer growing up and the whole ceremony took a few minutes. Afterward, they found a hole in the wall bar to celebrate.

She looked down at her left hand and admired the silver ring with the black sapphire with cubic zirconia on the band. The stones could be made of plastic for all she cared, all that mattered was in almost two years of risks that brought her across the country for a new job, meeting someone in a random bar, and running some of her best races of her life, it all had come together and she had no regrets.

Her phone buzzed on her desk, she swiped the screen to see the message from Brian.

“Hey wifey, can I bring you coffee?” she laughed at the message. She truly had it all.


End file.
